Performing Arts

Canadian folk singer and songwriter Heather Dale lives a long way from Texas, but she traveled south recently to perform at Copperas Cove Public Library. Cove Herald reporter Erik Papke spoke with Heather's fans who gathered for the performance.

There will be unemployed gladiators pounding the streets of Antalya, Turkey after the closing of the Aspendos Gladiator School, where modern-day gladiators entertained tourists. The company cited "a poor tourism season" as the reason for the closing.

For 500 years, Henry VIII has had a reputation as a womanizing villain, but TV historian Dr Lucy Worsley has a different view: Henry was a family kind of guy who just wanted to settle down with a good woman.

Visitors to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, in Norwich, have the chance to chat with King Henry VIII, but also risk getting slapped with a ticket from the faire's sherrif for "excessive jubilation." The faire runs through October 20, 2013.

Kamm Island Park in Mishawaka, Indiana became the "Kingdom of Kamm" recently when the Michiana Renaissance Festival came to town. Tricia Harte of WNDU - Channel 16 - in South Bend hosts three videos on the Faire.

Elizabethan theater life may have been booming for playwrights such as Shakespeare, but it was not so rosy for children in theatrical troupes. University of Oxford professor, Dr Bart van Es, discovered evidence of systemic child abuse while researching his book, Shakespeare in Company.

Sir Kenneth Branagh will bring his version of "the Scottish play" by William Shakespeare to the drill hall of the Park Avenue Armory in New York City in June 2014. Sir Kenneth said: "I am delighted that we have the chance to recreate Macbeth in this epic setting."

The Satire of the Three Estates by Sir David Lyndsay is considered Scotland's only surviving Renaissance play. Now the six-hour-long political satire is being performed at Linlithgow Palace in West Lothian. (video)

Wendy Furie is a veterinarian - and a Scottish bard. While the two professions might sound at odds with each other, she makes them work, in the modern world and as Swannoc Beag, a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Laura Blasey of the Frederick (Maryland) News-Post has the story.

Viscountess Elashava bas Riva reports that she has posted photo and video from Double Wars, which too place recently in the Kingdom of Northshield. The photos are available on Flickr, while the video can be found on YouTube.

For twelve summers, residents of the state of Wisconsin have been entertained by the comedy, music and medieval skills of performers at the Bristol Renaissance Faire. Mrinal Gokhale of the Milwaukee Express has the story.

In 1594, William Shakespeare made a move that gave him financial stability and, some say, changed the way he wrote plays: he purchased a one-eighth share in the Lord Chamberlain's Men. One of those people is Dr Bart van Es of Oxford University's Faculty of English Language and Literature, who claims that the purchase gave the playwright a better relationship with and understanding of actors.

Best-selling historical novelist Philippa Gregory has inspired a new series, currrently running on BBC One, which tells the stories of Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort and Anne Neville. The White Queen is based on Gregory's series The Cousin’s War.

Justinian Clarus of the Kingdom of Ealdormere, reports that his songbook, Cry of the Wolf VI, a completely prejudiced compilation of this Bard's and Their Majesties favourite songs, is available, is available online. The book is subtitled Marching to War with Trumbrand and Kaylah.

Lady Lorelei Skye, Dean of the Performing Arts College at Pennsic, has released the final schedule for the Pennsic Performing Arts Tent and Ampitheater – and invites you to enjoy the many new and returning performers.

Members of the Society for Creative Anachronism were on hand in early June for the 21st annual Three Barons Renaissance Fair in Anchorage, Alaska. Bill Roth of the Anchorage Daily News offers a photo album with highlights.

At St. Cecilia at the Tower II, an event which took place May 18, 2013 in the Barony of Cynnabar, Midrealm, the Cynnabar Singers presented a program of period music. The program also included Martin's Bane from the Kingdom of Ealdormere. Videos are available to view on YouTube.

Each year, a jester is chosen to liven up life at Muncaster Castle, near Ravenglass in Cumbria, England. The custom goes back centuries to Tom Skelton, believed to be the original Tom Fool, a real-life jester believed to have a murderous past. (photo)

To all Poets, and aspiring Poets, of the Knowne World, you are cordially invited to participate in Poetry Day at Artisan's Row on Monday, July 29, 2013 at Pennsic 42. Please bring your poetry displays and plan on doing some presentations and meeting aspiring poets throughout the day.